This is a selection of good-quality easy crosswords available online, free of cost. I'm mentioning those that I'm familiar with myself; there must be other fine puzzles that I haven't had a chance to try. If you have recommendations to add or further thoughts on these crosswords, please drop a comment about it.

An easy crossword with simple vocabulary and accessible wordplay. The puzzle is fair, clever and fun, with lots of double definitions and cryptic definitions.

NIE is a UK-syndicated crossword (anyone knows the name of the original puzzle?) set by Roger Squires.

Online location: Go to the New Indian Express ePaper and use the site search facility for "crossword". From the search result, expand the grid image to get the printable crossword. [There's no direct URL to the puzzle and too many popup ads on NIE's website, which makes the process of locating the crossword quite painful. I hope NIE does something about it!]

Probably the most popular crossword in India. Indian solvers have an edge with THC because of the local flavour in the clues.

A number of compilers set for this puzzle. The quality and difficulty of the puzzle varies widely according to the setter.

The paper publishes the setters' puzzles cyclically - the full quota for one setter, then the next one takes over. The sequence of publication (with puzzles per cycle for each setter), as on 30th Jun 2011, is:

The crossword published in the Indian financial daily Economic Times is quite approachable for beginners. It has many "combination" clues (those that mix clue types, like anagram within container) without being overly tricky.

A number of compilers set for this puzzle, and the style/difficulty varies according to the setter. This page gives style/difficulty ratings for some FT setters.

In general, the week starts with simpler puzzles, so Mon-Tue are good days for newbies. I've found the setters Dante, Armonie and Falcon to be quite easy. Dante incidentally is Roger Squires, the same as the NIE setter.

Online location: The Financial Times crossword page has links to the latest crosswords. FT has recently fixed legibility issues with the printable puzzle. They used to be blurred images earlier, now they're neat PDFs.

Archives: Older crosswords up to three weeks are available at the same location.

Solving help: Go to category FT on fifteensquared. The solutions appear on the same day, except for Mon and Sat prize puzzles which are blogged about after the deadline has passed.

As with FT, a number of compilers set for this puzzle. Many compilers on FT also set for Guardian under different pseudonyms.

The Guardian crossword has a more adventurous style than FT and may be tougher, but Monday can be relied on for easy fare. The setter is usually Rufus on Mondays. No prizes for guessing who Rufus is (yes, it's Roger Squires, the same as the NIE setter and Dante of FT).

Solving help: Write a comment under the puzzle, the setters will respond.

Frequency: Roughly once a week. A new puzzle is generally uploaded around Fri-Sat. (Update: No new puzzles have appeared since a while, but have a go at the archives.)

Actually, you don't have to start with an easy puzzle. You could directly do the Times (which is harder than the puzzles above), only that you have to be stronger not to lose heart if you don't answer too many clues in the initial tries. With any puzzle, you will see progress if you solve regularly and seek explanations when you don't understand something.

Just cut your solving teeth on well-made puzzles, easy or hard doesn't matter all that much.

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The syndicated crossword that is published in the New Indian Express is supplied by Gemini Crosswords, which agency was previously known as First Features.The same set of 12 grids is in use since 1970s when I became acquainted with the puzzle.

And if you want to solve what is NIE crossword interactively, visithttp://www.pressandjournal.xwrd.co.uk/doublexword.aspNot only the day's offering but also puzzles from an archive are available there.

Thank you, CV Sir. Great to know about the interactive version as well, but it doesn't match with the crossword published on the same day in NIE, does it? Is there a standard lag, as in THC Sun vs Everyman?